Leasing activity in Adelaide CBD market slips below five year average
A tightening white collar employment market and weaker business conditions for the private sector saw leasing activity in the Adelaide CBD office market sink below the five year average last year.
The latest quarterly Savills Spotlight Adelaide Office market report revealed that 74,697 square metres of leasing activity took place in central Adelaide in the year to December - down 8.1% on 2012 and well down on the five year average of 125,590 square metres.
Of the 74,697 square metres reported leased in central Adelaide, the government and community sector was most active leasing about 45% of the stock reported leased.
Despite a positive contribution from the fringe precinct, overall net absorption across the city and fringe was 4,108 square metres.
Adelaide’s combined office market vacancy rate for the CBD and fringe markets stood at 11.8% as at December 2013. Of the two markets, the CBD has the highest vacancy rate at 12.4%, while the fringe is 8%.
Dissecting the results for the CBD market, Savills said that prime grade stock recorded positive absorption of 20,094 square metres over the period but noted that it was down 14,003 square metres on the previous year.
Secondary grade stock recorded negative absorption of -22,943 square metres. "These figures show that most demand for prime grade stock is coming from within the CBD, with only a small proportion of tenants moving into prime space from other office precincts," said the report.
The city fringe recorded net positive absorption of 2,030 square metres - down on the previous 12 months but up on the five year average of 1,835 square metres.
While Savills is tipping leasing activity to remain subdued in the short-term, it expects tenant demand to improve, predicting positive net absorption to return to the CBD market in the medium term.
Helping to drive that shift in leasing conditions, it says will be the introduction of newly refurbished office space onto the leasing market in late 2013 which "should provide a number of opportunities for existing and new tenants during 2014".
"The next 12 months are forecast to have an increase in lease expiries over the past 12 months which should help drive an increase in leasing activity in central Adelaide."
More stringent rules surrounding mandatory NABERS Energy rating disclosure, it adds, were also likely to have a negative impact on older office space in Adelaide, particularly for properties seeking to attract government tenants.
Average CBD net face rents remained steady in the final quarter of last year - ranging from $310 to $410 per square metre per annum.
Savills said incentives remained steady for premium grade buildings over the quarter due to relatively strong leasing demand. However, A and B grade incentives increased as a result of increased supply and the resulting increase in competition, it noted.